Week 16 - My Town

My town, this week's theme from FOCUS 52.  I was born in Hollywood, California which has not be an incorporated city since 1910.  Hollywood is more of a state of mind and an attitude than a city.  I have lived in an unincorporated part of the City of Los Angeles for the majority of my life.  What that means is I don't live in a city.  I am represented and served by the county government.  I'm kind of a woman without a city.  But I prefer to look at it as a woman surround by cities and I have adopted them all.

The entire county of Los Angeles has 88 incorporated cities and 10 unincorporated cities.  Some of the unincorporated cities are more famous than the incorporated one, they include Hollywood, Venice, Watts and San Pedro.  In the little area that I live in, I'm a few blocks from Los Angeles and Inglewood, less than 10 miles from Culver City.  My job, which is less than 20 miles from home, I am less than 10 miles from Beverly HIlls and Santa Monica.  The Beach Cities of Venice, Marina del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa and Long Beach are all places that are visited regularly for restaurants, shopping, theaters and other social activities.

I chose a neon sign from Hollywood and Vine because I was born in Hollywood and it is one of the many icons of Los Angeles. There was a television news anchor that would say something like, "From the deserts to the valleys and from the mountains to the sea this is the news.  As a native Angelina I agree, this is Los Angeles.

Week 15 - Perspective

Perspective -

Noun:  the art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth and...
Synonyms:  prospect - vista - outlook - view

This is the quick definition I found online to start this entry and it fits.  It, as you may have guessed, is the theme for Week 15 of FOCUS 52-2012.  I have done those perspective drawings in the couple of art classes that I've taken over the years.  I understand how to draw a solid object on a piece of paper with a pencil or pastel.  Perspective in photography is done with light and position.  If you look at the synonyms, they seem to fit photography closer.   Vista, view, outlook are position and what we do more of with a camera.  How the camera is placed can change how the viewer interpretes a scene, object or person.

This sculpture, Urban Lights by Chris Burden is breath taking.  I have seen it in daylight and by it's own light.  It's one of those works of art that looks different from any angle.  And the number of observers and photographers that were there on a late Saturday night says that I'm not the only one there enjoying it.  As a secondary note, across the street is a man playing an upright piano, just to add to the ambiance.

I hope you enjoy my photo.  I have a few more on my flicker page.  You can access them from the widget in the upper right of this blog.  I should really go and see this work of art for yourself at LACMA, (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  There's no admission fee to see this, just go.

Week 14 - Pastels

This was Spring Break for me week 14.  I just rested and tried to spring clean.  Needless to say, even with more time and opportunity, I didn't get out there and shoot.  Even with the lack of motivation, the shot came to me.  I was in Ralphs and saw these flowers.  They needed to be shot.  Here they are.  Happy Easter!

Week 13 - Stacking it Up

Stacks of ladders and wood.  Construction and craftsmen might come to mind.  This was taken from the street through an open door to a studio.  A studio for film or television is a place where other worlds are created.  Or where this world is recreated.  I imagine these ladders could be used to build sets that we may see, if the film of TV show is popular.  Or they may construct a set that is only seen by the craftsmen who built it, the actors who acted on it and all of the behind the scenes people who make the decision to not air the product. The possibilities are endless when it comes to making the magic of television and film.

I spotted this on my hunt for things that are Stacking it up.  The color of the ladders surrounded by the gray building and the gray rainy day jumped out at me.  It seemed as if everything was gray, even the plants.  All of the colors seemed to melt away into the rainy overcast day.  My assignment come from the FOCUS 52 site.  I found a few other things that were colorful on a grey day.  I hope you can find some colorful things to enjoy on your gray days.  Please check out the few I caught on my flickr site.

Week 12 - Minimal

My last entry was the week I fell through the porch.  That sounds tragic and funny at the same time.  I am on the mend, but am a bit slower than before the fall.  Anyway, I didn't shot much for week 11 - luck or green.  I didn't manage a few photos using my iPhone.  Photographically, I don't care for those photos because my iPhone, a 3GS, is old technology.   It does not have the flexibility of a low-end digital camera, rendering most photos blurry, fuzzy or dimly lite.   I'm not trying to blame the equipment.  I just have to learn to shot better with it.  Week 11 was also the week I went to CUE, Computer Using Educators, Annual Conference.  A great place for edu-techies.  So I was busy attending what seminars I could while coddling my wounds.  But that was last week.  You can see those photos at my flickr site.

This week, Week 12, I didn't have the opportunity, that I would have liked, to shoot.  Next year's school budget is due within a 14 day turn around.  I don't want to go into the details, but let's just say that I had worked 34 hours by the time I left work on Wednesday, and had made plans to com in of Saturday.  As a side note.  When I saw the doctor on Tuesday of last week, regarding my fall, she noted I should add vitamin D and calcium to my vitamin regime.  I don't think I'm getting enough sun.  Go figure.  But I digress. I saw this lone calla lily and thought of it's simple beauty and realized that simplicity was minimal and snapped the shot.  I hope you can enjoy it too.

Week 10 - Words

This weeks theme from the FOCUS 52 group is Words.  Even though you can't see them here, the words are fallen, swollen, pain, left leg and now what do I do, those are just the ones I can repeat.  I wasn't able to get any shooting done this week because I fell through my porch.  I was taking out the trash when the plank just gave way.  I fell through all the way up to my hip.  I am so fortunate.  I broke no bones.  The skin was only broken in two small places, but the soft tissue damage is extensive.  My right hip was re-injured,  a pulled flexer muscle, and sore arms from pulling myself out of the hole.  All and quite an experience.  I am using arnica montana, cream and sublingual tablets, rest (as much as possible).  The arnica has helped with the swelling and healing.  I just hope I'll be better, and or able to do more for next week's theme.

Week 9 - Starts with J

This year's Project 52 helps me get outside of my day to day insanity.  The weekly assignment was "Satrts with J"  I could only think of the same few things, junk, jacket, jump and people whose names begin with J.  As I was leaving work after the sunset, I drove by the Santa Monica Airport and noticed the the windsocks on the edge of the entrance were lit up.  They were beautiful.  I made a note to myself to come back and take some photographs.  That's when it hit me, Jets starts with a J so I returned to the airport.

The Museum of Flying is located at the Santa Monica airport.  There was one of the Blue Angels.  They are the US Navy flight demonstration squadron.  They put on many thrilling air shows and are used to recruit for the US Nave and US Marines Corp.  If you have not seen one of their shows you should make an effort to see one.